E3 2010’s Hidden Gems

With over 800 games on show at E3 2010, some were always going to fall between the cracks of coverage as we all clamoured over the like of Gears 3, Killzone 3, Halo, Need for Speed, Call of Duty, Zelda, Kinect and Move. We’ve covered our picks of the big games, so let’s have a look at some other titles that we feel deserve a little push too.

Shank

As the name should indicate, this little title is looking like quite the vicious bastard. The comic-book style visuals look stunning even in motion with the character animation looking super slick in this 2D action platformer. Think of it like Metal Slug, but a lot more stab-happy. Shank will involve a lot of climbing and jumping across rooftops. The way Shank jumps with two blades arched over his head, ready to pounce on enemies is sinister as hell. We’ve seen him use pistols too, with which he can dual aim left and right with ease. You get the feeling he’d prefer to get up close and personal though.

Time Crisis: Razing Storm

The light-gun genre has really fallen on its ass over the last few years, with mainly remakes on the Wii and Time Crisis 4 embarrassing itself when Namco thought it would be a good idea to attach half a control pad to the game. Worst. Idea. Ever. But with PlayStation Move on the way, maybe the genre can climb back, gone is the plastic gun, but we’d imagine you’ll be able to put the Move controller in a gun-like frame. The main difference from the games we enjoyed on the PS2 or the arcade is the constant presence of an onscreen target reticule, which takes out a lot of the skill, hopefully we’ll be able to turn it off and Move will be accurate enough without it. We’ll miss the old G-Con gun, but there’s only so much clutter we can take around our TVs today.

Rayman Origins

Great news for fans of the original game from the Saturn / PS1 days as it was a fantastic 2D platformer. A few rubbish 3D games later and a highjacking by the Raving Rabbids series, we feared everyone’s favourite limbless hero was dead and buried. He’s back though, in traditional 2D form and rocking a new cell-shaded cartoony look. The game looks like it’ll play similarly to the original, with platforming, ledge-grabbing, punching and hair-flying all returning. Rayman can even be seen to use his hair to fire wind attacks at his enemies. His big blue buddy has been spotted in the trailer too, which points to some co-op action. The game will be released in episodic style over PSN and XBLA, fingers crossed it’s sensibly priced. You too Sonic.

Sly Collection

Everyone’s been begging for an Ico/Colossus HD remake for years now, so it was quite amusing to hear we’re getting the Sly Collection instead. Sony decided to casually throw this announcement into their press conference amongst a list of 3D games coming soon. Quite simply, this is awesome news, as the Sly Cooper platforming series was the strongest on PS2. Jak & Daxter was great, but then they got obsessed with guns when Ratchet arrived. Sly always played it cool though as the stealthy racoon thief. The third game was the best of the bunch, combining a myriad of gaming styles of platforming, stealth, racing, flying and ideally-sized open-world environments. Players might remember that the third game also had an early crack at 3D with the old blue/red specs. It didn’t really work, but this time the whole series will be getting an optional, proper 3D treatment (obscenely expensive TV and glasses required). You can probably expect the new HD package to be sold at a discounted price like the GOW collection. Hell, the PS2 games still regularly go for over £20. Despite having them already and a PS2 upscaling PS3, I can’t wait for this.

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions

Hopefully this’ll cheer up Mr Kotick, CEO of Activision who publically said: “Our Spider-Man games suck,” back in January. I have to defend the PS2 Spider-Man 2, though which is one of the best film tie-ins around and absolutely nailed the web-slinging. But yeah, they’ve f**ked up every game since.

It looks like Spidey won’t be in New York this time though as the game takes place across four alternate realities with each one offering different characters, moves, environments, playing styles and unique visual design. Players will be able to choose which universe they want to tackle at a time, with 12 levels set across the three acts.

‘Spider-Nan Noir’ has Spider-Man skulking around the shadows in a dark suit (not like Venom) with goggles. The 1930s-style universe will focus on stealth moves as early footage shows Spidey sneaking around a closed fairground. Yes it all looks a bit Arkham Asylum, but no complaints here. Lighting will act dynamically, with the world becoming brighter if you’re out in the open and the light draining away if you’re well hidden. Comic book fans may have spotted the villain Hammerhead, who looks perfectly at home in the Noir universe as he has a very distinct Dick Tracy mobster look (it’s the deformed head).

‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ is a more colourful universe, taking place in a jungle and Mayan-esque ruins. There’s a vibrant cell-shading look, but done in a much smoother style than the PS2 title Ultimate Spider-Man. The combat will be much more aggressive than the Noir levels, with many combos involving the use of webbing to smash rocks into foes and heavy amounts of web will be used as a whip-like weapon too.

‘Spider-Man 2099’ is an even bigger departure than Noir. Looking like a mix of new-age Tron and The Fifth Element, lavished with neon and skyscrapers taller than anything we’ve seen before. Base jumping sees players diving from the rooftops and chasing the Green Goblin while taking on foes during free-fall as buildings thunder past at frightening speeds. Once on the ground, combat appears to be more vicious here as spider-Man seems to have some sharp talons attached to his forearms. Bullet time (they’ll call it something else of course) will also play a part as you’ll need to dodge incoming fire. We’ll see more traditional web-slinging in this universe as they are plenty of buildings around.

We’ll miss modern New York (it could be the unnamed fourth dimension though), but this new adventure looks like the kick in the ass the series needs, and the three distinct styles look like three completely different games in one. Roll on September.

Well that’s all we’ve got time for now. Are you looking forward to any of the above, or did something else catch your eye amongst the mass offerings of E3 2010? Let us know below people.

Actually I'd say the light gun genre has been revived over the last couple of years with the Wii as before that there was little else out there but now there's been some quality titles particularly with Umbrella/Darkside Chronicles.